< Acquaintance and studies. >

Amongst other of his acquaintance I must not forget our common friend, Mr. Samuel Cowper, the prince of limners of this last age, who drew his picture as like as art could afford, and one of the best pieces that ever he did: which his majesty, at his returne, bought of him, and conserves as one of his great rarities in his closet at Whitehall.

1659. In 1659 his lord was—and some yeares before—at Little Salisbury-house (now turned to the Middle-Exchange), where he wrot, among other things, a poeme, in Latin hexameter and pentameter, of the encroachment of the clergie (both Roman and reformed) on the civil power. I remember I saw then 500 + verses, for he numbred every tenth as he wrote. I remember he did read Cluverius's Historia Universalis, and made-up his poeme from thence. His amanuensis remembers this poeme, for he wrote them out, but knows <not what became of it>.

His place of meditation was then in the portico in the garden.

His manner of thinking:—he sayd that he sometimes would sett his thoughts upon researching and contemplating, always with this rule that he very much and deeply considered one thing at a time (scilicet, a weeke or sometimes a fortnight).

There was a report (and surely true) that in parliament, not long after the king was setled, some of the bishops made a motion to have the good old gentleman burn't for a heretique. Which he hearing, feared that his papers might be search't by their order, and he told me he had burn't part of them.—I have received word from his amanuensis and executor that he 'remembers there were such verses for he wrote them out, but knowes not what became of them, unlesse he presented them to Judge Vaughan, or burned them as I did seeme to intimate.' ☞ But I understand since by W. Crooke, that he can retrive a good many of them.